Category Archives: Confucianism

Episode 32 of “This Is the Way”: Music Has in It neither Grief nor Joy

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When you hear sad music and feel some sadness in response, is that because the music has successfully carried the sadness of the musician to you as the listener? Or is it better to say that the sadness is in you, released by the music but not “carried” by it? In this show (our second with a live audience), we discuss the music theory of the third-century philosopher Ji Kang 嵆康 (223–262 CE), who argued against the “carrier” view of music and for a more complicated and pluralistic account of the emotional contents of music. We also discuss Ji Kang’s interpretation of a famously evocative and mysterious passage in the Zhuangzi, regarding the “piping of Heaven.” To guide us in discussing these issues, we lean heavily on our guest, Meilin Chinn of Santa Clara University, a leading expert on the philosophy of music in China. Continue reading →

Jin Reviews Li, Confucian Comparative Political Philosophy

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Yong Li, Confucian Comparative Political Philosophy, Routledge, 128pp., $200.00 (hbk) ISBN 9781032671871.

Reviewed by Yutang Jin, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Hong Kong

In philosophical works, it is difficult to combine bold innovation with intellectual humility. The reason is straightforward—to show creativity, an author is tempted to grandstand about their originality. I consider Yong Li’s Confucian Comparative Political Philosophy one of the rare cases where the author successfully combines each of these two virtues without sacrificing the other. This book is a recent intervention in contemporary Confucian political theory, an increasingly important field that connects the Confucian intellectual tradition and cultural practices to normative questions in political theory. Written with exceptional analytical rigor and high accessibility, this book can serve as an ideal reference…

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Episode 31 of “This Is the Way”: The Great Music Debate — Mohists vs. Classical Confucians

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Is music an extravagance in a world of scarcity or a necessary expression of our humanity? We explore Mozi’s consequentialist condemnation of elaborate musical performances and Xunzi’s argument that music, proper guided, plays a critical role in taming unruly emotions and building social bonds. Beneath the disagreement lies a profound clash over basic human goods, how emotion should be shaped, and whether the arts are dispensable or essential to human flourishing. Continue reading →

Episode 30 of “This Is the Way”: Confucianism and Reverential Reading

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In this episode, we explore Zhu Xi’s striking account of how to read philosophical and other important texts with what he calls “reverential attention.” Blending close reading with reflections on learning, character, and distraction in modern life, we discuss how Zhu Xi tries to make reading simultaneously transformative and objective. The discussion raises a fascinating puzzle at the heart of Zhu’s approach: how can we personalize our reading so that it shapes us, while also preventing our own biases from distorting the text? Continue reading →

New Book: Song, Debating Transcendence: Creatio ex nihilo and Sheng Sheng

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Bin Song’s Debating Transcendence: Creatio ex nihilo and Sheng Sheng has recently been published through Fordham University Press. Please read more to find the description of the book, or scan the QR code on this flyer to access the press’s website and the full book. Additionally, there is a 25% discount code DEBATING25 for purchase of both digital and the physical copies. Continue reading →